Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-12-14
LIVELIHOOD OFLAwYERS.
Schemes which Some eff them Work
Upn Order TO Make a Living.

'The lawyers have no difficulty in
making enough to live on. There is d
comparatively small number of these
among the 300 attorneys here. OF
course it is simply impossible for 300
men in city of this size to exc out a
subsistence by the use of their legal
| lore. a great number are young men
who have not worked up practice and
cannot be expected, however shrewd
they may be, to earn living. Then,
too, the city has Its full quota of shys-
| ters and pet tlfoggers, who resorts TO
all sorts of schemes 10 earn dollar. If
you will take a court docket and look
it through you will find that about
| forty lawyers have most of the busi-
ness. If the law business were equally
divided there would be enough to sup
port all of the profession in the cito,
but there are several who make $50, 900
or $50, 200 year."
''How do the rest live?"
I'm various ways. Some have money
to live on inherited from their fathers,
some have rich wives, many combine
their law practice with real estate and
| Insurance business; but there are more
than people suppose who are living from
hand to mouth. hardly knowing where
the bread for the next meal Is coming
from. There is another class which,
l am sorry to say, is not small one,
aud which is the disgrace of the pro-
| fesSion. 1t is the class of dead beats
who in some Inscrutable way gain the
title of attorney-at-law. They make II
a business to squeeze client as long
as anything can be gotten from him,
! on one preteXt and another. AT one
time they will want money for officers
fees, but the money never reaches the
officers. At another time it is to pay
for counsel or for expenses
There are thousands of ways that are
used to get money from an unsuspect-
ing client. Many OF this class have
no Office. They sponge their station
cry off the county, beat landlords out
of board bills and borrow money until
their credit is gone"
"Do lawyers ever seek out businessP"
Certainly they do. know of law
yers In this city who make it a prac-
tice to hunt up persons injured on the
railroad, and induce them to begin
suits for damages. In these cases the
most of the lawyers fees are often
made contingent on the success of the
suit. y close watch is kept for every
accident, for scandals, family disputes,
or property litigation. Immediately
any promising case is developed the
lawyer approaches the victim, and
generally succeeds in being retained. :"
"How is this business looked upon
by the professionf"
MY own opinion is that no first
class lawyer would ever stoop to any
such proceeding. When one IS in
stTaitened circumstances. though, L can
hardly wonder that such devices are
resorted to-"
SIS this system pursued success
fully in criminal cases2'
"Yes, and much more easily than in
civil cases. l don't know how it is
now, but few years ago | have pos
tive knowledge that there was COM
bination of certain lawyers with de-
tectiyes and other officers. The detec-
tive used to get percentage of the
fees in all the cases he would bring to
the lawyer he had bargained with. 1t
was very easily managed. Criminals
very frequently consult with the Off
GERS as to a suitable attorney to en-
ploy, and the advice of the officer is
usually followed"